Learning Story Telling at 6

Hello and welcome to my first, ever, blog!

Growing up, I remember coming home from elementary school each day and sitting next to my dad while I did my homework. I would be working really, intensely hard to write my vocabulary words “three times each” and my dad would be writing out a multitude of stories in his journal. I remember trying to be nosy by repeatedly asking what he was writing and he would say that when I was older, I could read it. This routine we created was normal and over time, I looked forward to sitting next to my dad and watching him get lost in these mysterious stories that I was too young to read. To this day, I’m sorry to share that I still have not read them. I know, I know, it’s disappointing. But you know what’s worth focusing on for a second?

In a time where school could have been easily perceived as tedious, negative work, while I was learning words, my dad was writing them in a way that told the burden, longing, beauty, and love that makes up our world. I wanted to write like my dad and that routine became a catalyst for me to find burden, longing, beauty, and love inside of learning.

So, what I’m really saying is that I love writing. It brings us together no matter where we are located in the world and it creates history. And I’m excited to do that here, as blogs! I invite you to share your perspectives with me as I talk about topics ranging from my life with Type 1 diabetes (if you didn’t know, surprise!) all the way to preparing to get married while having this disease (and if you didn’t know this, get with the program!).

You can share your thoughts by commenting below and by sharing the blogs in your own post on social media. We all have a story to share. I think that was one of the most valuable lessons I learned from those homework days and when I would be diagnosed a few years later with a chronic illness with no cure, this lesson got me through some of my most difficult times. No matter what we are going through, let’s unite through the opportunity to share our stories. You never know who is innocently begging to read or understand the meaning.